Commercial forestry plantations

After World War I, the United Kingdom government actively pursued policies of so-called afforestation in an attempt to make the country more self-sufficient as a timber producer. Large tracts of land, especially uplands, have been planted with introduced conifers of which the commonest are the Norway spruce and Sitka spruce (Picea abies and P. sitchensis).

These coniferous plantations are usually so densely planted that little in the way of ground flora is found within them.